Apr
08
What is the difference between Copyrighting a design on a website and Trademarking the same design???
ByI am starting a new website and want to copyright the site?
Now what does this cover exactly?….
Also, thru my research I have found that copyrighting a wesite covers the text and the designs on the site…but this confuses me…
If my designs/pictures (ex. logos/pictures) are protected under the copyright and people can’t steal that logo….why do I have to trademark that same logo/ design???
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4 Comments
April 8th, 2010 at 7:15 am
As creator and owner of the site you already hold the copyright. On the site your logo might appear, but *that particular* expression/displaying of the logo is included in the copyright of the site it’s on because the entire site is copyrighted.
Alone, away from the site, the logo should still be protected, and so it is trademarked.
If you painted a picture of a tree and I took photo of the painting and put that photo on my site (with your blessing), I only own the picture of the painting — I can’t just come to your house and take the original. Does that make sense?
April 8th, 2010 at 7:15 am
the difference of copyright and trademark is the protection. and a difference between traitional copyrighting, and copyrights related ot webpage text editing.
copyrights protect the item(s) copyrighted for a maximum of $250,000.00 in damages. trademarks offer much more protection.
copyrights are about $25 and you can fill out the single form yourself. Trademarks cost well over $1000.
TECHNICALLY, your creations are automatically copyrighted the moment you create them. The legal aspect (paying the fee and filling the form and sending the copy) only helps you prove in court the date those materials were verified as yours.
Simply put a copyright symbol on your work (c) ©.
April 8th, 2010 at 7:15 am
Copyright is just ownership of an image, but trademark is a registered identity by that image.
April 8th, 2010 at 7:15 am
To protect the logo as a design & just that, that’s a copyright.
Copyrights can be obtained for things of an artistic nature. This includes, of course, poetry, films, sculptures, music, fiction, etc. But can also include things that may not necessarily seem "artistic" in the general sense of the word. Copyrights can also be obtained for advertising copy, games, software programs and blueprints, to name just a few.
The logo used to identity your brand and/or services would be filed for a trademark IN CONNECTION with those particular goods/services. For example, the Nike swoosh design, McDonald’s golden arches, Starbucks mermaid, etc.
Trademarks can be names of products or services, logos, slogans, packaging and even sounds and smells. In essence, a trademark can be almost anything that is used to identify a particular product or service. Registering a trademark grants the owner exclusive rights to the mark within the specified industry.
Some of the advantages to obtaining a Federal trademark include:
"You can establish rights in a mark based on legitimate use of the mark. However, owning a federal trademark registration on the Principal Register provides several advantages, e.g.,
•constructive notice to the public of the registrant’s claim of ownership of the mark;
•a legal presumption of the registrant’s ownership of the mark and the registrant’s exclusive right to use the mark nationwide on or in connection with the goods and/or services listed in the registration;
•the ability to bring an action concerning the mark in federal court;
•the use of the U.S registration as a basis to obtain registration in foreign countries; and
•the ability to file the U.S. registration with the U.S. Customs Service to prevent importation of infringing foreign goods."
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/tac/doc/basic/register.htm — Link to above quote
Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!